All Children Should Learn a Martial Art

All children should learn a sport from an early age. It can have a massive effect on their development as a person. But which sport should they pick? I propose to you, that all children should learn a martial art.

Of course I am biased as an instructor, however being an instructor has allowed me to see all of the positive effects of martial arts on children from all walks of life. I began by joining kickboxing in at university at the age of 19, however have since expanded my knowledge by trying other martial arts such as taekwondo, jiu jitsu and kung fu.

I now help to teach 6 children’s classes (ages 4-14) and 6 adult classes a week with children from all backgrounds and will propose to you the reader a whole host of reasons why children should do martial arts.

• Confidence – children often have difficulties with confidence at a young age. Being encouraged and feeling like they’re doing something well is extremely important to their development and can help through their whole lives.
• Discipline – Martial arts instructors are taught to demand respect. Being prepared to be the “bad guy” is a big part of being an instructor. From my experience, parents often appreciate the involvement, eg. The child misbehaved this week, so their belt may be confiscated temporarily (remember they worked hard for that belt, it’s there’s taking it away is a big deal).
• It gives them values – Martial arts should teach your child that using violence against others is a last resort and should only be used in self-defence, however your child should also be taught that bullying etc is wrong and they should stand up against it when appropriate.
• Dealing with losing – This is an important hurdle in a person’s life. Some people never really learn to deal with losing very well. However, in the club I am a part of, a few of the children have over time began to understand that losing isn’t the end of the world. After crying for the first few times he lost, he realised that doing his best was more important than winning and he did indeed eventually win a few tournaments.
• Humility – dealing with winning, showing respect to an opponent and being humble in defeat or victory. The instructor and the parents are very important for this, being encouraging in victory and congratulating a child is positive, however allowing a child to have an ego, telling them that they aren’t good enough when they don’t win is wrong.
• Being part of a team – Children learn to encourage others be happy in others achievements and not jealous.
• Dexterity, balance, physicality, flexibility etc – Physical attributes which make them more efficient in life are learnt. Although many of these only become important towards adulthood (if they stay), they are important. Dexterity and balance are important early in life not just for athletes, but for most aspects of life.

I could go on but I think I’ve made my point, however there’s one more thing I want to talk about!

What it teaches you the parents.

Many of the same skills are essential to the parents of children and are learnt by parents through martial arts. You learn to deal with your child’s losses, you learn that you can’t have an ego for your child and much more.

This is why in my ignorant opinion, all children everyone should learn a martial art!